OUTLOUD! Records, 22 December 2020
Grim Deeds takes it up a notch with one last gift for 2020.
The everready Grim Deeds has one more sacrifice to the macabre gods that made 2020 a bit of a chaotic shitshow. The absurdly fantastic title Infernal Satanic Pop Punk Blasphemy From Hell graces this new album, and 23 buzzing songs from the one-man-band-machine are offered up. As with his other releases, much of the music was recorded in his car and in his garage, and all of it was recorded by Deeds (now playing drums, too!).
The Infernal Satanic Pop Punk songs are pretty fantastic. Whether it’s the Lillingtons-esque lead guitar on “Dirty Deeds” or the NOFX-style lead on “Ignorance Is Bliss” (this is a particular favorite and the lead gets me thinking of “Liza and Louise”), Deeds hits all the right marks and does so with earworms and hooks for days. “Just Google It’ is at once funny and prescient, examining modern issues of anxiety while knocking out a great buzzing Ramones-type riff. And the awesome “Joe Don’t Listen To Judas Priest” goes past a wonderful title, bringing the goods on a singalong chorus and tossing in some earcandy backing vocals harmonizing along the last line of the song. On others, he hits some next-level catchiness. Closer “At My Funeral” is buzzing and has my favorite melodic bass line on the record. Plus, the humorous and irreverent lyrics land with lines like “they shoot my corpse at a brick wall like a human cannonball”. “Worst Case Scenario” has some chiming guitar jangle that reminds me a bunch of (very) early Guided By Voices (maybe Devil Between My Toes or Sandbox-era) and “You Are The One” is jangle pop done right with plainly sweet couplets (“you are the one I’ve been waiting for/never felt so sure”). And possibly my favorite on the record, “Contrary”, works so well. The phrasing and rhyme scheme digs in and sticks in my brain for hours on end. It’s a really fun pop punk song.
Deeds also tries out some different flavors, maybe an Infernal Satanic Goes Americana sort of thing. He has a handful of songs that work as acoustic campfire sort of songs, each memorable in their own way. “Costco” is a catchy singalong, “Neo Geo” feels like a shuffling hootenany nostalgia quest, and “JNCO Jeans” is a funny little ditty. On others, though, he leaves the campfire and dives neck deep into some country romps. “Short Story Long” and “Renaissance Man” both do some jangly country pop, each with memorable melodies and nice backing vocals. “Let It Ride” is a country stomper that thumps and rumbles just right. And my favorite of this bunch, “Don’t Make Me Think”, has a catchy vocal melody and some nice singalong backing vocals that harmonize with the lead a bit, all while singing satirical words about the dumbing down of society. He pulls these sorts of songs off well, and his commitment is admirable (I swear I hear a drawl in his singing on these more countryfied songs). The key is to do this without losing who you are, and it seems to me like he does this trick just right.
Grim Deeds does a lot. He seems to constantly have new music in the queue, he’s got a great interview blog, and he’s started up a new record label. So when I hear new accomplished music like Infernal Satanic Pop Punk Blasphemy From Hell, I’m left wondering how he has the time. But instead of wasting my time wondering, I’ll just keep busy listening to whatever new stuff he’s putting into the universe, because it’ll likely be worth my time.
Favorite song: “Contrary”
Favorite moment: the hootenany feel to “Neo Geo”
Favorite whatever else: the song title “Joe Don’t Listen To Judas Priest” is one of my favorites for the year
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
